A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

The girl brushed past her.

Xia Ling finally understood why she looked so familiar — her hairstyle, facial shape, and clothing style were all too similar to herself in her past life! It was almost like looking at herself.

Her eyes never left the girl even after she left, and she could not conceal her shock.

“Is she very pretty?” Pei Ziheng said in a low voice.

Xia Ling snapped back to reality and shook her head. That girl was good-looking indeed, but she was nowhere near Xia Ling in her previous life. There were similarities between them, but something about the imitation was off and unnatural.

Pei Ziheng’s eyes had a tinge of regret as he looked at Xia Ling. “Indeed, she isn’t.” She could not compare to the girl standing before him right now. Although she did not look similar to his Xiao Ling, her every action and mannerism made him feel like Xiao Ling had come back to life.

If she were not 18 this year, and Xiao Ling 16 when she passed on, Pei Ziheng would really suspect that she was Xiao Ling incarnate.

It was hard to explain.

But his longing for her had driven him insane.

“Come over and sit.” He invited her once again. “Since you’re already here, why not show me some face and have a meal with me?”

“I’ve already…” She did not want to see him for any longer than she needed to and tried to give him the same reason she did previously.

“Had your meal?” Pei Ziheng finished her sentence, his voice still gentle. “Have dessert with me then, or I can get the waiter to serve it to your table.”

Xia Ling glared at him. He was definitely being deliberate!

She was not going to allow him to do it. Jimmy and Rong Ping were outsiders to her. In fact, even Lin Yunan was not someone she was all that comfortable with. It was great between Li Lei and her now, so she would not risk making the headlines with Pei Ziheng again…

She could not bear to imagine the repercussions.

In order to maintain peace, she decided just to accept his offer.

What was the big deal about having a meal with him, she would leave immediately after.

Xia Ling took her seat opposite him.

Pei Ziheng asked for the menu again and handed it to Xia Ling. “What would you like?”

Xia Ling asked the waiter even before looking at the menu. “What are your most expensive dishes here? Serve them all!” She was not in a good mood and had decided to take her revenge this way, to spend all his money.

Pei Ziheng looked at her indulgently while concealing his hurt.

Even when she was angry, she acted in the exact same way as the girl who had passed away.

Xia Ling saw the look in his eyes and realized how childish she was acting. How could she possibly spend all his money, given his wealth? She took the menu back and browsed through it properly. “Grilled scallops, medium-well steak, marinated prawns, pumpkin porridge…”

She named all the dishes she wanted.

The waiter politely asked, “May I know if you would still like the dishes you ordered earlier? All those dishes would not fit into this table.”

Xia Ling paused for a moment, barely realizing how much she had ordered. The table was already wide and supposedly fit four people comfortably, was she… wasting too much food?

“Yes,” Pei Ziheng replied. “Serve them dish by dish, we’re not in a hurry.”

Was he actually planning on making her sit there for the whole night?

“You won’t let me off if I’m not done eating?” She asked meekly, losing all her previous energy.

Pei Ziheng acknowledged her statement distractedly.

Xia Ling was confused.

“Can I just return the dishes if I can’t finish them?” She tried negotiating with him when she realized her mistake.

“Serve the ones that she ordered last.” Pei Ziheng seemed to be in a good mood, given the way he spoke. “Pack the rest into takeaway boxes and send them to this address.” He wrote an address on the piece of paper — it was exactly where she and Luo Luo were living at.

“I didn’t say I wanted to pack the food.” She tried resisting softly.

“Take it for supper,” he said gently.

There was no harm having all that food. It seemed like it was more than she could eat for supper, and she could probably even have them the next day. Rashness really was the devil, she was never doing this again.

The marinated prawns and steak were served first.

Xia Ling ate heartily. These dishes were way better than the bland food that Rong Ping had ordered. These delicacies were her reward for a night of socializing — food was definitely her one true healing.

Pei Ziheng barely touched his chopsticks as he watched her gently.

She looked like Xiao Ling even when she ate. Xiao Ling had a good body composition as well and did not put on weight however much she ate. She did not have the troubles of other female artistes and could enjoy eating as much meat as she wanted at every meal. Now, in the dim light, the girl before him seemed to be overlapping with the image he had of his perfect girl…

“Xiao Ling.” He blurted out.

She did not hear him as she was too engrossed in eating.

Meanwhile, the others were conversing at the other table.

“Hasn’t Miss Ye been gone for a long time?” Jimmy glanced at his watch. “Could something have happened to her?”

Lin Yunan was puzzled as well. She should not be taking that long on a trip to the washroom. He gave Xia Ling a call only to realize that she had left her cellphone and bag at her seat.

“This girl is really careless.” Lin Yunan looked apologetically at Rong Ping and Jimmy. Then, he signaled for the waiter to come over and asked if he had seen the lady.

“Miss Ye?” The waiter was observant. “I just saw her. Someone from the other table got her to stay and have a meal with him.”

They were all surprised.

“Who’s it?” Rong Ping asked first.

The waiter smiled politely but did not reply. Keeping the other guests’ information confidential was necessary for a high-end restaurant like theirs. If it did not concern her safety, he would not even have revealed where she was. That was the most he could tell them, and it was up to themselves to find out.

Moreover…

Compared to these people, Mr. Pei at the other table was a regular.

Mr. Pei was a nice guest, one who was of high status, generous with his tips, and also not a difficult person to serve. Except that… he did not like to be disturbed, and every single waiter in the restaurant had been told that right from the start.